


this kind of love

by neville



Series: thorbruce shorts [14]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Cute, Feelings Realization, Fluff, Gentle Kissing, Kissing, M/M, Romantic Fluff, Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, thor ragnarok is gay but i made it gayer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-27
Updated: 2020-01-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:41:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22441252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neville/pseuds/neville
Summary: “I’m kinda just feeling grateful right now because as bad as this all is…” Bruce trails off, realising quite how close Thor is, quite how tender he sounds. “You’re with me.”or: Thor and Bruce share a moment on the Grandmaster’s ship.
Relationships: Bruce Banner/Thor
Series: thorbruce shorts [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1419172
Comments: 6
Kudos: 167





	this kind of love

**Author's Note:**

> you know what these two deserve? SO MUCH. they deserve all softness and love. thank u to river & noor for reading this over for me! thorbruce rights

Asgard is a while away. Sleeping-distance away, and in the back of the ship there’s a small circular room hopefully meant to be used for eating, but Thor pushes the table against the wall and that leaves just about enough room for he and Bruce to fit. Valkyrie insists she’ll sleep up front in case anything goes wrong, though this is probably the safest part of the journey. Bruce feels a high-pitched squeal of terror ring all through his body, and he likes it more in the back, where he can’t actually see the dark of space around them. Studying it is one thing; actually hurtling through the stars is definitely another, and not one he’s sure he’s ready for with his head still swimming. He feels a little high – not that he would know what that was like, but this is his closest approximation. 

There are no blankets, or pillows, or anything, so he takes Tony’s blazer jacket off and drapes it over himself. It’s not helpful in terms of warmth, but it makes him feel more like he’s lying in a bed. He likes that. Any semblance of normality is good right about now, when everything in his life feels like it’s been ripped from the pages of a comic book or adapted from a movie. If he hadn’t felt the pain of crash landing on this vessel, he would still think that he was dreaming. 

But truth is stranger than fiction, and the truth is that Thor is now settling down beside him, radiating immense warmth. Bruce is a little on the too-nervy side to sleep, and he can tell that Thor is restless, too. He props himself up on an elbow. 

“Hey,” he says softly. “Are you okay?” 

“My father just died, my irreplaceable hammer gifted from him to me has been destroyed, and now I’m going to Asgard to kill my sister, the Goddess of Death, who has probably murdered a good deal of my friends and citizens already,” Thor says, and then Bruce hears him click his tongue and let out a long sigh. “I’m as okay as you can be with all that happening.” 

“Thor,” Bruce says, sucking on his tongue and wondering what on Earth to say to that. “If anyone can make this right, you know, it’s you. You’re the God of Thunder. I believe in you.” 

Thor chuckles – ever so slightly, but still, it’s a result. “How are you feeling?” he asks, and from anyone else Bruce might assume it was deflection, but Thor has a way of making things at the very least  _ seem _ genuine. But Bruce gets the feeling that Thor does care: his love is like a bottomless pit. 

“I don’t even know where to start feeling,” Bruce admits. “I’m glad you were there. If I had just de-Hulked on that planet on my own, you know, I would’ve been – I mean, you saw how stressed I was and that was with you. So I’m kinda just feeling grateful right now because as bad as this all is…” Bruce trails off, realising quite how close Thor is, quite how tender he sounds. “You’re with me.” 

Maybe on Asgard, being this upfront is more normalised, because Thor doesn’t seem to react. “Glad I could help,” he says. “It was strange without you, on Earth. Avenging without your plans. Tony would have these questions and wouldn’t know who to ask – and then, so did I, all these questions about your Midgardian customs that everyone else would’ve laughed at…” Thor pauses, swallows. “I didn’t expect to miss you like I did. It came at very strange times.” 

“You can ask me all those questions now,” Bruce offers. “I won’t laugh.”

“They seem small now,” Thor says. Bruce gives him a one-shouldered shrug that he hopes Thor will understand as  _ ask them anyway _ . “I just don’t understand the way you’re all so  _ limited _ . As if anyone who doesn’t fit a frame is dangerous or wrong.” 

“I don’t understand it either,” Bruce says, thinking about himself when he says it. He thinks about the Hulk first, because that’s what he always does, and then he thinks about something else, the little whisper in the back of his head that he’s been trying to ignore for years. Even his own head is a microcosm of persecution. 

Thor reaches out and places a hand on Bruce’s arm, sending sparks up Bruce’s gut. 

The voice gets louder. 

“I’m not scared of you,” says Thor. Bruce’s breath shudders when he lets it out. “Everyone who is – they’re just not trying. They’re not listening.” 

“Are you listening now?” Bruce asks, slowly reaching his hand up and clasping it over Thor’s, which has been soothingly worrying his shoulder in little circles. Thor looks intrigued when he nods. Bruce wishes he felt high like this all the time; he feels  _ brave _ . 

He shifts forward and crosses the distance between them, kissing Thor, as light as a feather. Reality hits him in the moment afterward, all the fear and self-loathing embarrassment crashing on top of him and demanding to know why he thought he could ever kiss someone like Thor, so beautiful and strong–

Then Thor’s mouth blossoms into a smile, and he cradles Bruce’s face and kisses him back. Thor kisses better, bolder; he guides Bruce on top of him and licks into his mouth. He has a hand pressed flat against Bruce’s chest when Bruce finally breaks away and says “too fast”, shaking his head. Thor instead rests the hand at the back of Bruce’s neck, and Bruce wonders how much Thor can feel him tremble. 

“You’re shaking,” Thor says, answering that question. 

“I’ve never, uh. I’ve never kissed a guy. Human limitations and everything.” Bruce lowers himself and then shifts, so that he’s lying down again, pressed into Thor’s side. “And never anyone like you.”

“Like me?” Thor inquires, sounding amused. Bruce blushes fiercely. 

“A God,” he says. 

“I’ve never kissed anyone like you,” Thor says, waiting a moment for his punchline. “Small.” Bruce manages a choked noise somewhere between a laugh and a denial, and then Thor pulls him back in, his eyes bright. “You’re something else, Banner.” 

Thor straddles Bruce this time, kissing him in so many ways Bruce has never been kissed before; he’s not shy, not like anyone Bruce has dated before, and when they finally stop making out like they’ve just discovered how, Thor tells him how romance is different in Asgard. They’re more forward, and sexuality is so much more fluid there, so much so that they lack labels at all; and there isn’t much of a concept of going slow, so Bruce explains it. Thor listens intently, stroking Bruce’s collarbone with his thumb. 

“Is this,” Bruce asks, looking up as best he can, “is this it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Are we dating now?” Bruce asks in a small voice. Thor kisses into his hair. 

“Of course,” he murmurs. “I’d be honoured to be with you.” 

Bruce goes so red that he abandons the idea of talking from beneath his blush; instead, he reaches out for Thor’s hand which he hopes he’ll be getting to hold for a long time soon, if he should be so lucky, and closes his eyes. Things feel less terrifying when he can feel Thor breathing beside him. In fact, he almost feels –  _ safe _ . 


End file.
